The amateur sleuth who searched for a body — and found one

A car wreck found at the bottom of Lake Sakakawea in North Dakota brought the search for a missing young mother, Olivia Lone Bear, to an end. But the discovery was made not by the police, but a mostly-female volunteer team of indigenous sleuths and activists led by Lissa Yellowbird-Chase.

Source: BBC
Published: Mar 25, 2019
Length: 25 minutes (6,499 words)

Fighting the Vanilla Thieves of Madagascar

Demand for vanilla from Madagascar has skyrocketed in recent years, but the process of exporting the spice to markets around the world is fraught with risk, unpredictability, and — increasingly — violence.

Source: BBC
Published: Aug 16, 2018
Length: 11 minutes (2,967 words)

When Cops Became Robbers

Seven of the eight members of Baltimore’s Gun Trace Task Force started robbing criminals of money, guns and drugs and violating citizens’ constitutional rights. Until they got caught.

Source: BBC
Published: Apr 3, 2018
Length: 35 minutes (8,784 words)

When Political Commentary Is a Case of Life or Death

Jennifer Keishin Armstrong recalls Saddam Hussein, Silvio Berlusconi, Vladimir Putin, and Muammar Gaddafi as she explores the history of comedy as not only a relief valve but also as a formidable resistance tactic against oppressive regimes.

Source: BBC
Published: Feb 6, 2017
Length: 7 minutes (1,779 words)

Why Vitamin Pills Don’t Work, and May Be Bad for You

Are you taking your vitamins? You might reconsider that.

Author: Alex Riley
Source: BBC
Published: Dec 8, 2016
Length: 9 minutes (2,388 words)

Arms Wide Open

The story of Cristo Redentor, Rio de Janeiro’s most iconic landmark.

Source: BBC
Published: Mar 10, 2014
Length: 9 minutes (2,430 words)

A Schoolboy Wrongly Accused

The account of a Ugandan teen wrongly accused of two murders, and the lawyer who cleared his name.

Source: BBC
Published: Mar 1, 2016
Length: 17 minutes (4,289 words)

No Rest

After a forty-year career in broadcast news, Bill Proctor has spent his retirement investigating a brutal murder from two decades ago.

Source: BBC
Published: Dec 21, 2015
Length: 18 minutes (4,616 words)

The Tragic Tale of Mt. Everest’s Most Famous Dead Body

The first in a two-part series about the bodies that remain on Mount Everest.

Source: BBC
Published: Oct 8, 2015
Length: 22 minutes (5,510 words)

Who killed Alberto Nisman?

Days before he was due to release a report condemning the Argentine government, a high-profile prosecutor was found dead in his home. Was it murder or suicide?

Source: BBC
Published: May 28, 2015
Length: 14 minutes (3,600 words)